Sold your House? It’s Time to Move!

If you’re living in your home and it’s just sold things are about to get very busy for you. After a sale is agreed you will quickly feel the relief of not having to have the house “inspection ready” all the time, however, it will soon dawn on you that now you actually have to move out and have a vacant home ready for handover after settlement!

Depending on what is agreed in the contract you will have four or six weeks to pack up your life and move it into a new home. Things are about to get very hectic!

As helping our clients is our favourite thing to do, we have put together some lists and checklists that may help ensure a smooth handover of your property and to help avoid any delays on the day of settlement. It is a good idea to try and have the bulk of things done before the final inspection takes place a day or so before settlement.

Here’s what we recommend when moving out:

Electricity, Gas, Telephone, Internet etc Connections

We recommend that, where possible, these are not disconnected until after the final inspection has taken place. During the final inspections the purchaser should be able to turn on appliances to check that they are working. You will need to contact your provider to arrange disconnection of your services but aim to have it done around the time of settlement.

We would also recommend that you use the mail re-direction serviced provided by Australia Post to ensure that your mail is no longer sent to you at the property. You can obtain forms from the Post Office or online at www.auspost.com.au.

Lawns & gardens

Mow lawns and ensure all clippings and any rubbish is removed from the yard.

Furniture and goods from the house, garage and sheds

All items of furniture and goods should be removed from the house, garage and any sheds on the property. This includes any unwanted items such as old building materials and the like.

Condition of interior of house

We recommend that, in readiness for the new occupants, that the house is clean and tidy throughout, carpets are vacuumed and where possible cleaned by a professional, other floors should be swept and/or mopped and the kitchen, in particular the oven and the bathroom/s should be cleaned also.

Instruction manuals for appliances

If you have any instruction manuals available for any of the appliances in the house and yard, we would advise you to bundle them together and leave them in a central place like on the kitchen bench or in a kitchen drawer.

Handover of keys and garage remotes

If you could hand in any keys and garage remotes to our office on the morning of settlement that would be appreciated. Once we have received confirmation from your Solicitor or Conveyancer that settlement has occurred we will then hand over them over to the new owners.

Click here for Pre-Settlement Checklist: PRE-SETTLEMENT CHECK LIST

Packing Up & Moving Out

It can be difficult to find good quality boxes suitable for protecting and moving your valued possessions which is why we sell from our office a variety of moving items including boxes (2 sizes), bubble wrap, tape and mattress bags in various sizes. You can pop into our office any time to pick up any of these. They are very reasonably priced and are sourced from a local removalist company.

Click here for Moving Box Price List: MOVING BOXES – FLYER

Don’t forget to label your boxes well as you pack them so when you get to the other end and start unpacking it’s a little easier to find what you need.

Speaking of removalists, if you plan to use one don’t forget to book one as soon as your contracts have exchanged. Generally, they are very busy and can be difficult to secure. The earlier you can book this in the better.

Of course, there will also be jobs that need to be done so you can move into your new property as well.

When moving house there are many things for you to attend to and it is all too easy to overlook the need to advise various authorities and organisations of your change of address.

It is, however, very important to do so since you may otherwise incur a penalty or expose yourself to liability or, at the very least, suffer unnecessary inconvenience.

It might be of help to go through the following checklist and tick off each item, which is relevant in your case. Here’s what we recommend you look at when you’re moving into a new house but please remember the list is not necessarily exhaustive and you should add to it as necessary.

Electricity – Contact your provider to arrange connection or allow Your Porter to assist you (click the link below or give us a call for more info about Your Porter).

Gas – Contact your provider to arrange connection or allow Your Porter to assist you.

Telephone / Internet / Pay TV – Contact your preferred provider or allow Your Porter to assist you.

Home Delivery Services (papers, groceries etc)

Mail Redirection – Redirection forms can be collected from any post office

Electoral Roll – Enrolment detail forms can be collected from any Post Office. These should be completed and sent off in the pre-paid envelope provided with the forms. Any queries can be directed to: Division of  Calare, Australian Electoral Commission or change online at www.aec.gov.au.

Motor Vehicles, Trailers, Caravans etc – eg Registration, Driver’s Licence, Third Party Insurance, Comprehensive Insurance, NRMA membership

Life Insurance

House and Contents Insurance

Health Insurance

Ambulance Cover

Family Allowance and Social Security

Shares, Stock and Debentures

Banks, Building Societies and Credit Unions

Credit Cards and Award Cards

Charge Accounts

Hire Purchase

Various Practitioners – eg: accountant, dentist, orthodontist, doctor, optometrist and solicitor

Employer

School, College, University

Church, Club Membership, Gym Membership

Library

Magazine and Other Subscriptions

Friends and Relatives

Click here for Utilities & Services Checklist: UTILITIES & SERVICES CHECKLIST

Click here for Your Porter Info: YOUR PORTER INFO